Anybody commute in their RIB?

fslflint · 14 February 2012, 14:00

thinking about comuting via water. this is all new to me. I've lived near the water for some time, but never owned a boat. so i know this is gonna be a learning proposition.

I work on the potomac river. the river is between a mile to 2 miles wide. most days its flat. being that I'm always open to new experiences I thought maybe I could commute by boat. obviously it would just be to supplement the drive, as I'm not naive to think I could do this every day.

the few people I have talked to have suggested to stay in the 14+ foot length, but like I said, I'm pretty new to this.

thoughts and suggestions?

Zippy · 14 February 2012, 15:19

My girlfriend used to work with someone over this side of the world (UK) that used to commute about 20 miles a day by 5 meter humber rib to and from work. He was a proper hardy type (Lifeboat Cox and used to some weather).

If you have an alternative then its worth a go on the nice days and use the car on the nasty days!

There is a bloke who comes over from the isle of wight to Hamble every day but he has a 30 ft cabin rib so its always dry for him!

jwalker · 14 February 2012, 15:40

Unless the weather is horrid, it sounds like a nice way to start your day. I presume you have somewhere safe to store your boat at each side of the river.

Welcome to ribnet btw.

fslflint · 14 February 2012, 16:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwalker

Unless the weather is horrid, it sounds like a nice way to start your day. I presume you have somewhere safe to store your boat at each side of the river.

still checking into that. at work they have a dock, but I may not be allowed to use it due to one reason or another. there is a public marina close by, but they generally are closed before I start work.

Chris · 14 February 2012, 22:56

I would be looking at something able to handle a bit of rought stuff as you may not always have the nice weather when its time to go home..

4.5-5 metres would be ideal with a decent "V" hull.

PeterM · 15 February 2012, 09:34

I took my boat to work a few times ( when working on another ) and while after 8 or nine hours straight on one boat you might think the last thing I wanted to do was spend 30 mins getting home...but it was brilliant !

OK it cost 6 times as much as the train and halved my earning for the day - but took less time to get home and on the few days I did it was a really good feeling.